The Libyan Center for Democracy and Human Rights (LCDHR) participated in a roundtable discussion on reducing overcrowding in detention facilities and prisons in the Middle East and North Africa region, in an attempt to find alternatives to detention as well as to consider rehabilitation and reintegration programs for prisoners.
The discussion took place on 1st and 2nd October and organized by the International Organization for Penal Reform in Amman, under the patronage of the Director of Public Security in Jordan, Major General Obaidallah Al-Maaytah, and in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
A group of experts in the field of correctional and prison work participated in the roundtable including judges, representatives of public administrations concerned with prisons in the Middle East and North Africa region, national human rights institutions, parliamentarians, and several representatives of civil society organizations.
Experts at this forum discussed the experiences of several countries in this field and the practical measures aimed at reducing overcrowding in detention facilities and prisons, before, during and after trial.
They also presented models of procedures followed at the national level to reduce overcrowding in each of the represented countries. The roundtable also highlighted the role of national human rights institutions in working together with prison administrations to reduce the effects of overcrowding and protect the rights of prisoners.
Two days of deliberations at this roundtable provided a platform for an insightful exchange of ideas on how to reduce overcrowding in prisons and resulted in a set of recommendations and proposals for action aimed at implementing the United Nations recommendations on detention.
Unfortunately, the Libyan state was not represented at this meeting, which could have been very useful for the Libyans to learn how to reform the prison and detention systems in Libya and improve the conditions inside Libyan detention centres.
For more information on the round table:
Roundtable on “Reducing Overcrowding in Detention Facilities”